Gromnir

am gonna second josh's recommendation of pathfinder. #1 were ok, but 2, 3, & 4 were all pretty outstanding in very different ways. #5... given how much Gromnir pleads for moral challenges, shoulda' been right up our alley. we did like much o' 5, but it weren't as kewl as 2-4 for Gromnir. haven't played or seen #6 in the series as yet. some o' the iconics feat selections and attribute point distributions baffle Gromnir, but is not as if you gotta play with the pregenerated characters. rarely does Gromnir buy a prefabricated adventure. is only a couple o' wotc 3e modules we gots. however, we does have pdf versions o' all the available pathfinder: runelords stuff, and we is looking forward to crimson throne. HA! Good Fun!

"At any rate, I wasn't really talking about flying." am not surprised, but the thing is that 3d issues in open space is much more problematic than is the more easily plotted points on the map you no doubt created. dm sets up obvious places for ambushes and such ahead o' time, so he probably already knows relative heights and distances for fixed locations relative to other fixed locations. flight is different... is no relative fixed points save for the core o' the earth... and that not gonna help much, is it? figure out accurate distances and spell effects n' such is a problem when you add flight to mix, and if you is playing with a bunch o' Cal grads it can get annoying. *shrug* regardless, flight can be a problem for dms when players actually think in 3 dimensions. heck, given how much our players seem to abuse flight, we often set up encounters specific designed so that those players gotta stay on ground... for a change. HA! Good Fun!

"In cases where the situation becomes too complicated to track, why don't you just fudge it? " ... of course we fudge it. am not crazy. the thing is that eldar said he wanted players to think more 3d, and Gromnir has had nothing but fudge because of 3d. d&d evolved from mapped out 2d grids. as has already been noted, the 2d squares themselves cause issues for those concerned with movement.. hexes make easier, but you gotta fudge rules. wanna do z axis? fine, but as players learn what can be done with such an axis the rules force more fudge 'pon us. fudge it? hell yeah we fudge it... but we does kinda miss the simplicity o' d&d before more complex movement (especially z-axis movement) became the norm. HA! Good Fun!

am able to tell that you gots every limited grasp o' geometry... which is a good thing. is better that everybody in group is equally unsophisticated. however, all it takes is one joker to point out the flaws in a sand type approach... HA! Good Fun!

This is a respectable approach. unfortunately it not address any of Gromnir's problems. can have multiple critters and players occupying the same hex/square... at different altitudes and going in different directions. can be a chore simple to keep track o' folks with a 2d map. also, as noted previous, distance on the hypotenuse is annoying to us. take even a second to consider spell effects with a range o' 30' sphere... if you got multiple characters in air. can be a real pain in our arse. oh, and don't get us started 'pon gust o' wind (a spell we now see almost as often as fly) and some joker's suggestion that using vectors would be the only reasonable solution. HA! Good Fun!

really? 'cause Gromnir loathes 3 dimensions. as soon as players and monsters gain access to fly/flight, our peace as a dm ends. need a freaking degree in mathematics and a preternatural awareness o' spacial geometry to keeps everything straight... 30' on a 2d map ain't same as 30' at 45 degrees o' inclination. z axis nightmares. 2 dimensions is easy. 3 dimensions is a growing pain in our arse as movement becomes increasingly important. ... am gonna be so relieved when we gets a user friendly d&d mapping program that can handle 3d. HA! Good Fun!

the folks who write for The Enquirer is the kinda journalists who makes purposeful misleading headlines. is not a general practice 'mongst legit journalists. HA! Good Fun!

well yeah, you did. no frost giants in 4e monster manual #1 is not same as no frost giants in 4e. does anybody really believe that there ain't gonna be no metallic dragons in 4e? 'course not. is probably why you not say, "4e has red dragons but not gold?" is no statement that claims that frost giants is gone from 4e based 'pon linked material.. is only that they not in 4e monster manual. *shrug* is no real biggie for Gromnir. am understanding that death giants is important for another supported setting from wotc that we don't play. so, give limited 'mount o' space for giants in the new monster manual and somebody's fave is bound to get cut. similar stuff happened in 3e. had solars and planetars and hound archons, but no devas in the 3e monster manual. did that mean devas were dropped from 3e? nope. showed up in fiend folio. no frost giants in 4e monster manual. deal with it... 'cause given the huge volume o' d&d critters that has become part o' the creature catalog available to dms over past decades, we guarantee that more 1, 2, 3 & 3.5e critters will not be in the 4e monster manual than is. HA! Good Fun!

let us be fair. 4e will inevitably have frost giants, but the 4e monster manual will not. is leaving out such iconic d&d stuff as metallic dragons and frost giants from 4e monster manual kinda lame? yes. no doubt is simply a way to force folks to buy monster manual II. even so, is not as if d&d is abandoning frost giants altogether in favor o' death giants. is dozens o' legit reasons to be brassed off 'bout 4e... no need to create stuff. HA! Good Fun!

princess mononoke... not so much. japanese preoccupation with godzilla irritates us to no end. 'cause if you mistreat nature, eventually she will spit forth monsters to chastise you for your arrogance and your sins. didn't so much like the characters neither. spirited away, on the other hand, were fantastic. a bit obscure at times, but beautifully animated. a wonderful tale peopled by intriguing characters. sure, we still gets the near ubiquitous Nature themes, but those were secondary. didn't feel as if we had seen spirited away dozens o' times before, with ever so slight and meaningless variations in plot and character. HA! Good Fun!

It's impossible not to like Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Feckin' impossible. hmmm. this is one o' those anime shows that were recommended to Gromnir. people always recommend anime to us 'cause they knows how much we loathe most anime. is some episodes o' cowboy bebop exceptions to Gromnir's no-anime rule? yeah, and sadly that is why some folks keep recommending their fave new anime to Gromnir... am like the life cereal "Mikey" kid, but for anime. is a kinda game for some people to find anime that Gromnir won't hate.

squares has one advantage: make it easier to draw very straight dungeoun hallways and make perfectly rectangular or square-shaped rooms. never underestimate sloth factor. 'course given the growing importance o' movement in 4e, one wonders why hex ain't utilized. in any event you can usually convert w/ only small difficulty if you got ruler and compass. HA! Good Fun!

there is no point in arguing. is no plausible or reasonable excuse for the theft or piracy o' a LUXURY good or service... ever. HA! Good Fun!

"Gromnir's reaction is typical of the Monarchy hating American whom see's such things as tyranny" you is kidding, right? we think the monarchy stuff is a joke; a very expensive joke. the aforementioned Restoration happened 'cause english were so damned attached to the Idea of a monarch. the monarchy, given how your govt. actually works, is some symbolic gesture with a big price tag. have the queen turn over a shovel full o' dirt at tart o' some big civil works project makes all the little brits in attendance feel better 'bout themselves. the rest o' nightshade's observation ain't really applicable, relevant or accurate. the english monarchy would be a quaint anachronism if you folks weren't so passionate 'bout it. HA! Good Fun!

point for josh... and harry. HA! Good Fun!

ps please keep in mind that Gromnir ain't being critical o' harry. is not his fault that he were born a royal and gets special attention. am thinking that it is great that harry wants to share in the troops situation. got nothing bad to say 'bout harry. is the folks who make the story into something... more. those is the folks we is disappointed with. if the only thing that makes this noteworthy is the aberration factor, then here you go: http://www.gigglesugar.com/242232 far more entertaining and unique. HA! Good Fun!

"But Harry's service is more notable specifically because it is something that tens of thousands of regular folks do." of course aberrations is notable. is the reason it is notable that bothers Gromnir. the guy is english royalty... which means what? distant related to william the conquerer? so what? doesn't make the service more impressive or honorable or courageous. means only that it is more rare... an aberration worthy o' note, but not o' any special consideration. "oh, he is so courageous." no more than any other soldier in a combat unit... and his story is less genuine courageous than the guys who agonize over leaving home 'cause they can't support both family and country. as to the notion that American elite avoid service... now josh is being disingenuous maybe... or maybe not. simple ignorance? heck, even now a military career is a big plus for political hopefuls. maybe josh would be surprised by just how many sons o' Congressmen actually has military service. sure, some has bush kinda nonsense, but to lump all in bush category is equal unfair. the thing is, every time a Congressman or fed Judge's child joins the military it not make the news, does it? is not noteworthy enough. only does we hear 'bout the son's service once that son Does something of worth, like become a public official, or if his service is particular noteworthy. mere joining o' a combat unit is not making national news... and for good reason. as we said already. good for harry... but bad on those who see something particularly honorable or noteworthy 'bout harry compared to the tens o' thousands. HA! Good Fun!

new crimes needed to be added 'cause when originally envisioned it were not possible to steal use of pure info... and you is getting sentencing guidelines confused with threshold question regarding whether or not a crime were committed by a defendant. is judge having opportunity to tailor punishment? sure, but often there is min and max set... and for good reason. again, threshold question o' whether or not crime were committed does not look to the suffering o' the injured party. is a non-factor. btw, the laws for stealing info is generally stiffer with harsher punishment than simply steal goods. 'course there is exceptions, 'specially the anachronistic laws in some jurisdictions regarding particular types o' produce and livestock. HA! Good Fun!

"When you pirate a game you're stealing the lisence and that's a vastly different concept from stealing somthing physical." this is nuts. is not different from pov of the law... nor should it be. is wrong not 'cause you deprive somebody else of use, but because it Doesn't Belong to You. you is stealing stealing bread to feed your kids 'cause they is starving IS different... is still stealing, but raises a possible defense. heck, why is steal from a fed insured/protected bank wrong? the money is insured by the fed, so nobody lose anything. steal at night when nobody is around, and it ain't even a genuine crime, right? bah. is kookie to claim that there is some special category 'o theft for information and use. is wrong 'cause you take that which you do not own and you did not pay. there is a reason we separate tort from criminal. with criminal larceny the degree to which the injured party suffers is not relevant when determining if there were a crime committed. is simply free rider problem for a new generation, but on a vastly different scale than peoples using public transportation for free. HA! Good Fun!

and now come the stoopid rationalizations. stealing info is different than stealing a thing, right? only to the thief is it different. HA! Good Fun!

"caricatured a bit but still a grain of truth in it" an infinitesimal small grain perhaps. btw, bush, for all his perceived and actual flaws, still had to be elected. you no doubt don't see the significance. "I know that when I was volunteering the fact that my girlfriend was very much against it, along with my parents, made quitting seem almost the only sane thing to do." but they didn't do no news story 'bout you, did they? why not? HA! Good Fun!

how exactly does the money you has spent on games excuse the theft of still more games? am not seeing the point? what a novel approach to be trying in court... "look, i have spent literally hundreds of thousands of dollars on cars over the past 15 years. so i stole a car. big whoop. what are you going to do, throw me in prison for stealing a car? heck, with all the money i have already spent on cars, audi should have given me that s8 for free." ... give it a try. HA! Good Fun!

"Which is more noteworthy: being the son of an aristocratic family and voluntarily going to war, or being the son of an aristocratic family and using your family's influence to get out of going to war?" so what? lower the bar for children who come from substance... get some special pat on back for doing something that literal tens of thousands o' people do? *chuckle* go easy on the stuffing pummeling. fact that there is cruddy aristos out there not makes harry's actions more impressive that leroy from philadelphia. " Given the historical tendency toward the latter in the U.S., I don't think it's so strange to look upon what Harry's doing as refreshing... all things considered." as a history major, no doubt josh can name literally hundreds of US children o' privilege who took on the burden o' military service. wanna start the list, or should Gromnir? fact that you can name folks who has dodged military service with help o' daddy in no way ennobles (pun intended) some aristocrat neither. is it swell that harry took up military service? sure. is more noteworthy than the tens of thousands of others current serving? why? 'cause he is royalty? bah. is not as if he has done something special to earn respect neither. story is noteworthy simply 'cause harry is born o' privilege... which is a crap reason. have some big story every time some corporate ceo's or US senator's son goes to war? makes front page news when leroy or bob or john or many other people you never met or don't know take up military service? maybe if harry had earned privilege we would be more impressed. maybe if story had harry ,the fullbright scholar (or the english equivalent) who were forgoing the opportunity to study abroad and instead joined military 'cause of his personal convictions, we could get impressed or interested in the story, but that ain't it is it? harry's story is only a story 'cause in 1689 parliament decided that not having a king/queen were more trouble than having a catholic king... or perhaps you wanna go back further and say that 'cause william invaded in 1066, Gromnir should give a damn 'bout who is harry? harry ain't news to Gromnir 'til he does something more noteworthy than being related remotely and tangentially to a famous conquerer who died back in 'round 1088 (date looks wrong... can never remember the death dates o' these english monarchs.) HA! Good Fun!

their copy protection scheme were flawed and exacerbated the piracy problem, but given the Scope o' the piracy problem... +70% US. 90% in europe. +90% in asia. those numbers is staggering to Gromnir. free rider problem is covered in pretty much any basic economics course in high school and college, but we ain't never recalled examples wherein +75% o' total consumers for a given service or product is free riding... get over some certain % and almost always does such a service or good end up being wholly or partially subsidized by govt... or it simply disappears if it ain't deemed to be necessary. too inefficient. sure, if you can still make big profit in spite of free riding, then some developers will continue to make pc games and make money doing so, but technology has made piracy more problematic in recent years

why on earth does they keep the ridiculous even-number nonsense for ability scores... or any kinda ability scores that not simply match modifiers? all this talk 'bout streamline and simplification and the most obvious and easiest steps towards accomplishing seems to be... missing. oh well. HA! Good Fun!